HomeMy WebLinkAboutSP200700065 Correspondence 2008-04-16Hand - delivered
March 7, 2008
TO: Megan Yaniglos, Planner
County of Albemarle
Department of Community Development
401 McIntire Road
North Ming
Charlottesville, Virginia 22902
RE: SP- 2407 -065 — Herring Property / Verizon Wireless Tier III PWSF ( "Afton ")
Critical Slopes Waiver Request
Dear Megan:
Verizon Wireless is submitting this request to allow disturbance of critical slopes for the
installation ofthe proposed Tier III Personal Wireless Service Facility ( "PWSF" or "facility ")
in response to the site review comments. The facility site is approximately 2,400 square feet
in area, which is less than one percent (1 %) of the total property. Only approximately 1620
square feet (67.5% of the facility site area) are critical slopes and nearly all of those slopes
will be affected by grading and fill activity to establish the proposed finished grade level will
consist of within the lease area.
Areas of critical slopes have been identified on the site plan, and Verizon Wireless will
address the five health, safety and welfare concerns that are set forth in Section 4.2 of
the Ordinance below:
Rapid and /or Large scale movement ofsoil and rock
During construction the site will be stabilized using erosion control measures outlined in
the plan set, including a silt fence that will keep soil and rock within the site area. Once
the finished grades have been established, both the cut and fill slopes on each side of the
site will be stabilized with gabion retaining walls.
Excessive stormwater run -off
The finished surface of the site will be pervious, consisting of a layer of gravel over a
meshed layer of geosynthetic fibers that will allow stormwNater to drain back into the
around instead of flowing off -site. Additionally, the holes in the gabion cages will allow
any direct stormwater to flow into the retaining walls where it will be dispersed among
small spaces between the stones and gradually released into the ground.
Herring ( "Afton) - Verizon Wireless
Critical Slopes
Page 2
Siltation of natural and man -made bodies of water
No existing bodies of water have been identified on the subject parcel and the proposed
PIKSF site accounts for a very minute portion of the property. The proposed compaction
and the layer of geosynthetie fiber will stabilize the soil below the gravel in the lease area,
while the retaining walls will be used to stabilize soils on the resulting slopes. These
factors combined with the amount of vegetation remaining downslope from the facility
will ensure that silt does not travel to streams or ponds on any nearby properties.
Loss of aesthetic resource
There will be no significant loss of existing aesthetic resources, which are chiefly the
existing wooded characteristics of the property. Based on the results of the balloon test
this site has been shown to have an ample amount of backdrop provided by the trees and
mountain on the northern side of the site. Because of the limits placed on tree clearing for
the installation of PWSFs with treetop monopoles, a large amount of vegetation will
remain around the site after construction. A written tree conservation plan, dated
November 2, 2007, that was prepared by Dave Rosene of VanYahres Tree Company has
been provided for this site. The proposed tree protection fencing was revised to address
Mr. Rosene's preliminary comments and then the conservation plan was finalized based
on the revisions. In order to ensure that Mr. Rosene "s recommendation to install the
retaining wall as soon after cutting into the slope uphill as possible will also be followed,
the tree conservation plan will be used to stage construction.
Greater travel distance of septic effluent
This will be an unmanned facility that will not have a septic system or any other form of
plumbing. Therefore, the concern for possible impact on the travel ofseptic effluent is not
relevant to this request.
Section 4.2.5(b) allows the Planning Commission to waive the restrictions on disturbing
critical slopes upon finding the following (in part):
I . A strict application of these provisions would not forward the �oses of the Zoning
Ordinance
Critical slopes regulations in the Rural Areas are mainly focused toward ensuring that
adequate building sites can be attained for dwellings or other uses dependent on sewage
systems without large- scaled, adverse impacts to critical slopes. Section 5.1.40(b)(1) states,
"Notwithstanding section 4.2.3.1 of this chapter, a facility may be located in an area on a lot
or parcel other than a building site." The Wireless Policy refore, the building site
requirements they relate to critical slopes are not relevant to PWSFs.
The proposed facility will comply with the requirements for mitigating visual for treetop
PWSFs. This particular site was chosen because it provides access from an existing road
while also avoiding the appearance of increased clustering with the four existing facilities on
the property. Because the subject parcel located entirely on the side of a mountain, areas
Herring ("Afton) - Verizon Wireless
Critical Slopes
Page 3
surrounding the site are largely covered with critical slopes. Although some areas that are
devoid of critical slopes are scattered throughout the property, providing access to those areas
would require a longer road that would require the disturbance of even more critical slopes.
Furthermore, moving to those areas would place the site at a higher elevation and farther into
the Mountain Overlay District of Afton Mountain and would likely increase the chances that
the site would have adverse visual impacts. Therefore, a strict application of the critical
slopes provisions in this case would not further the purpose of the Zoning Ordinance as it
applies to Personal Wireless Service Facilities.
Restriction of the use of the property due to topography
Because the entire property is located on the slope of a mountain, some disturbance of critical
scopes is necessary in order to install the by -right facility, regardless of its location on the
property.
Modification or waiver would serve a Greater public rpose
The placement of PWSFs in areas where critical slopes exist will allow wireless carriers to
take advantage of the County's preference for siting facilities so that there is a backdrop of
trees behind the monopole. Furthermore, since the adoption of the wireless policy several
other PWSFs have been approved in this and other areas where critical slopes are present,
based mainly on the ability to camouflage the sites within the trees that provide foreground
screening and a mountainous backdrop
Conclusion:
Many of the concerns and requirements for granting a critical slopes waiver are considered
and addressed generally through the existing Personal Wireless Service Facilities Ordinance
requirements (finished grade and tree conservation requirement). Furthermore, Verizon
Wireless will address the concerns for this site in a more specific manner, using the proposed
design, tree conservation methods recommended by a certified arborist and sound
construction techniques. Therefore, we appreciate your thoughtful consideration in analyzing
this particular request for consistency with the criteria for modifying the critical slopes
regulations based on its own merits.
Please contact me at your earliest convenience, ifyou should have any questions or will
require any additional information.
Sincerely.
Stephen Waller, AICP
Zoning Manager
Wireless Resources, Inc.
Consultants to Verizon Wireless